Game 1 – Adrian Beltre had a pair of home runs, giving him 6 for the post-season, to give SouthWest a 3-2 lead heading into the top of the 8th. Stephen Piscotty tied it in the 8th with a pinch-hit single. Jose Altuve was 2-5, but drew a huge walk in the top of the 11th inning on a wild pitch that allowed the go-ahead run to score. Two batters later, Michael Saunders sealed the deal with a grand slam as Whitewater took game one of the NLCS 9-3.

Game 2 – Matt Andriese allowed only 3 hits in 6 innings of shutout baseball before yielding to the bullpen. Yadier Molina went 2-4 with 3 RBI as SouthWest won game 2 by a score of 4-2. The series shifts to Whitewater tied at one game apiece.

Game 3 – It was a cozy 62 degrees at Busch Stadium for game 3 of the NLCS. Jose Altuve and Freddie Freeman hit back-to-back doubles to start the bottom of the first. Stephen Piscotty drove Freeman in with a single and Whitewater was up 2-0. Freeman struck again in the 2nd with a 2-RBI double for a 4-zip advantage. Miggy hit a 2-run dinger in the top of the 6th for the final score. Carlos Carrasco earned the win as he and the bullpen held SouthWest to 4 hits.

Game 4 – With 2 outs and a 3-2 count in the top of the 1st, Adrian Beltre hit his 7th post-season HR for a 1-0 SouthWest lead. Domingo Santana countered in the bottom half with a 2-run shot and WWM was up. The Minerhawks tacked on 2 in the 2nd, another pair in the 6th and won 6-2. Clayton Kershaw got the win. Santana finished 3-4 on the day.

Game 5 – Game 5 took 12 innings. Troy Tulowitzki’s and Freddie Freeman’s doubles gave Whitewater a 3-0 lead thru 4 innings. Ian Desmond got SWR on the board with a pinch-hit HR in the top of the 6th. The Minerhawks were 3 outs away from the World Series, but the Roughnecks weren’t done yet. Orlando Arcia hit a pinch-hit triple to open the 9th. One out later, Adrian Beltre chased him home with another 3B and he scored to tie the game on Mallex Smith’s double. Whitewater left the bases loaded in the 11th, but when they loaded them up in the 12th, Tyler Flowers got the walk-off single to land the Minerhawks in their 2nd World Series in 3 years.

Congratulations to Alex Kilanowski on another fine season with his Roughnecks.